What is Type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body does not respond to the effects of the hormone insulin. This is known as ...more »

Type 2 diabetes: Most common diabetes in adults, usually progressing slowly, mostly treated without insulin at diagnosis.

Type 2 diabetes: A subclass of DIABETES MELLITUS that is not INSULIN-responsive or dependent (NIDDM). It is characterized initially by INSULIN RESISTANCE and HYPERINSULINEMIA; and eventually by GLUCOSE INTOLERANCE; HYPERGLYCEMIA; and overt diabetes. Type II diabetes mellitus is no longer considered a disease exclusively found in adults. Patients seldom develop KETOSIS but often exhibit OBESITY.
Source - Diseases Database

Type 2 diabetes: mild form of diabetes mellitus that develops gradually in adults; can be precipitated by obesity or severe stress or menopause or other factors; can usually be controlled by diet and hypoglycemic agents without injections of insulin.
Source - WordNet 2.1

Who gets Type 2 diabetes?

Profile for Type 2 diabetes:
Type 2 diabetes is more common in older people, especially in people
who are overweight, and occurs more often in African Americans, American
Indians, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, and Hispanic Americans. On
average, non-Hispanic African Americans are 1.7 times more likely to have
diabetes than non-Hispanic whites of the same age. Hispanic Americans are
nearly twice as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites. American
Indians have the highest rates of diabetes in the world. Among the Pima
Indians living in Arizona, for example, half of all adults have type 2
diabetes.
(Source: excerpt from Diabetes Overview: NIDDK)

Gender Profile for Type 2 diabetes: Approximately equally in men and women.

Racial Information for Type 2 diabetes: Type II, or Non-Insulin Dependent
Diabetes Mellitus, affects about 16 million American people. Among African
American women, this form of diabetes has reached epidemic proportions;
age 20 years or older, the rate is 11.8%. About 1 in 4 black women over
the age of 55 years of age has diabetes, nearly twice the rate of white
women. (Source: excerpt from DIABETES AND AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: NWHIC)

How serious is Type 2 diabetes?

What causes Type 2 diabetes?

Causes of Type 2 diabetes: see causes of Type 2 diabetesCause of Type 2 diabetes: Either poor insulin metabolism in the body (esp. muscles), or reduced pancreas insulin production, or both.
Causes of Type 2 diabetes:
When type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the pancreas is usually producing
enough insulin, but, for unknown reasons, the body cannot use the insulin
effectively, a condition called insulin resistance. After several years,
insulin production decreases. The result is the same as for type 1
diabetes--glucose builds up in the blood and the body cannot make
efficient use of its main source of fuel.
(Source: excerpt from Diabetes Overview: NIDDK)
Risk factors for Type 2 diabetes:
see
risk factors for Type 2 diabetes

Society issues for Type 2 diabetes

Costs of Type 2 diabetes: DCCT researchers estimate that intensive
management doubles the cost of managing diabetes because of increased
visits to a health care professional and the need for more frequent blood
testing at home. However, this cost is offset by the reduction in medical
expenses related to long-term complications and by the improved quality of
life of people with diabetes. (Source: excerpt from Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT): NIDDK)

Cost statistics for Type 2 diabetes:
The following are statistics from various sources about costs and Type 2 diabetes:

Estimated lifetime cost for Type 2 diabetes is about $25,000 in Australia 1993-94 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2003)

Estimated lifetime cost for Type 1 diabetes is about $190,000 in Australia 1993-94 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2003)

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